Celtics, with Pierce, rip shredded Nets

Celtics forward Paul Pierce (34) loses control of the ball during the first half of tonight's game in Boston against the New Jersey Nets.

The outcome of tonight’s Celtics game against short-handed New Jersey should have been decided even quicker than Kris Humphries’ marriage to Kim Kardashian.

It was. The Nets forward’s marriage lasted 72 days before Kardashian filed for divorce, but the Celtics didn’t pull away until the second half while posting an 89-70 victory at the Garden.

The Nets are mired in a six-game losing streak in which they’ve been outscored by an average of 18 points. They played tonight without three of their best players — Humphries (sprained left shoulder), point guard Deron Williams (sore ribs) and center Brook Lopez (broken foot).

Then they lost starting forward Damion Jones with a sore right foot with 1:03 left in the first half, and rookie MarShon Brooks scored only two of his team-high 17 points in the second half after twisting his ankle.

The Nets led at the half, 35-34, but Paul Pierce scored 11 of his season-high 24 points in the third quarter to help the Celtics seize command, 63-47. Boston shot 62.5 percent in the third quarter (10 of 16) after shooting only 39.4 percent (13 of 33) in the first half.

The Celtics turned the ball over only three times in the second half after coughing it up 10 times before intermission.

“We just played better, played harder,” coach Doc Rivers said. “We executed better. The ball was moving. I really thought in the first half our defense was terrific, our offense was horrendous. There was no ball movement.”

The Celtics have won four in a row since Pierce returned from a bruised right heel. They lost their first three games without him. Pierce admitted his heel is still only 80 percent, but it’s improving.

“He’s still working his way back,” Rivers said. “You can see it. He’s getting his rhythm. You know what he hasn’t gotten yet, and it’s coming, is his one-on-one iso (ballhandling) game.”

Ray Allen, who leads the Celtics with a 20-point scoring average, didn’t play because of the flu. Keyon Dooling started in his place and scored only five points, but Avery Bradley scored 11 after totaling two all season. Brandon Bass had 15 points and tied a career high with 13 rebounds for his first double-double since the season opener at New York. Kevin Garnett contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo dished out 12 assists.

Bass even picked up an assist. He has taken 78 shots this season but has only three assists. Rivers joking told him he was threatening the record of Yinka Dare, the 7-footer who had only four assists in four seasons with the Nets in the 1990s.

“But I don’t want him thinking pass too much,” Rivers said. “He’s a scorer. You don’t want to screw him up. You don’t want him passing too much. He passes to the basket.”

“Rondo, Paul and KG, they all put me in position to shoot,” Bass said, “swinging and going to the pick-and-roll. I don’t think it’s my job to be a playmaker.”Brooks, a rookie out of Providence College, made his first NBA start in place of Deron Williams. The Celtics drafted Brooks last June, but traded him to New Jersey for JaJuan Johnson and a second-round pick.

Brooks scored 15 in the first half to help New Jersey take a 35-34 lead. He made 7 of 13 shots while his teammates sank only 8 of 26, but he rolled his ankle late in the half. He remained in the game but limped off the court with 7:56 left to play.

The Celtics have posted their winning streak against Detroit, Washington and New Jersey, who have a combined record of 3-16.

The schedule turns more difficult beginning Friday night when Indiana visits. Then the Celtics play defending NBA champion Dallas, Chicago, Indiana and Oklahoma City. The good news is that all of those games, except for the second Indiana contest, will be at the Garden.